Flesh and Bone
by generationloki
Summary: "Sometimes Daddy has bad days. Not very much, but he does have them. On those days he usually stays in his room with the blinds all shutted. Papa tells us to stay away. I don't want to, but Clara and me do it anyways because Papa said to." From the POV of Thor, Loki and Tony's 3-year-old son. PART 4 OF ? READ "HERE WITH ME" FIRST


**You can find "Here With Me" on my fanfiction page.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, so here's the deal, guys. There will be many, many one-shot sequels of this verse, but they are not lineal. They are at random points in Tony and Loki's lives together. For example, this one is set a couple years after, but the previous was set a few months afterward.**

**There will be both prequels and sequels and from all kinds of point of views.**

**And really, if you have any requests or anything you want to be explored- message me on my Tumblr or leave a comment below! I'd love to hear requests.**

**Enjoy :)**

**Some angst and fluff in here – mostly fluff – and this is also in the POV of a three to four-year-old.**

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**SEVEN YEARS AFTER "HERE WITH ME"**

_I've gone through life white knuckling,  
The moments that left me behind.  
Refusing to heed the yield I penetrate,  
The force field in the blind.  
They say I'll adjust, God knows I must,  
But I'm not sure how,  
This natural selection picked me out,  
to be a dark horse running in a fantasy._

- "Flesh and Bone" by the Killers

Sometimes Daddy has bad days. Not very much, but he does have them. On those days he usually stays in his room with the blinds all shutted. Papa tells us to stay away. I don't want to, but Clara and me do it anyways because Papa said to.

I peek into Daddy's room to see if he's happy on the bad days, but he never is. If he were happy, he'd be playing with me. Not tucked up in bed, crying. I don't like to see Daddy cry. When Daddy cries, Papa cries. When Daddy and Papa cry, Clara cries. When they cry, I cry. I don't like to cry.

Today was different, though. Papa walked out of his and Daddy's room this morning and told me that it was a bad day for Daddy again. I felt sad about that but it was okay because sometimes people can't help their feelings.

Like, sometimes I cry when I drop and break a toy even though I try hard not to. Or when Clara gets angry when she can't solve a math problem.

Daddy can't help it when he gets sad or when his short arm starts hurting real bad.

I like calling Daddy's bad shoulder his short arm because it's easier to explain to the other kids. Even if he doesn't have an arm at all on that side, to me it's his short arm.

Papa explained it to me that my Daddy didn't always have his short arm. He used to have two normal arms. But some silly people who couldn't drive properly took that arm away. So now he has his short arm and it hurts sometimes. I try to block out his crying because it hurts something deep inside me, but it doesn't work. I try knocking on his door but Papa always tells me to leave him alone.

The other kids tease me because all of their dads have two arms and my Daddy doesn't. But my Daddy's special since he only has one but it still way awesomer then the other dads.

My Daddy can pick me up with one arm and swing me around. None of the other daddies can do that. My Daddy can read big, fat books and write them, too. The other daddies just watch TV and shout at it. But not mine.

They also make fun of me because I don't have a mummy; I have two dads- my Daddy and my Papa. But I like having two dads. They're really nice and they play with me and read to me and make stuff with me. I love them lots.

I know that they're not my real parents. Papa told me when I was little that my mummy died in childbirth and my daddy had to give me up. It's okay, though. My daddies chose me from lots of other babies when I was littler, which makes me special. The other kids weren't chosen by their parents. Their parents got stuck with them.

Anyways, today my Daddy was having a bad day, which means he cries a lot and doesn't eat. I heard him making loud noises from my room and it scared me. I don't like it when my Daddy hurts.

I went up to his door with my teddy bear, because JARVIS always makes me feel happier, and knocked on it. Papa came up behind me and gave me a cuddle, which made me feel warm.

"Hey there, little tyke," he said. His beard was scratchy against me but I like it. "Daddy's not feeling well again. He'll play with you a bit later."

"Can I give him JARVIS, then?" I asked. "JARVIS makes me feel better when I'm sad or hurting." I got JARVIS from my Papa when I got the pox. I snuggled him because he's nice and soft and I felt better after that. The itchiness wasn't so itchy.

Papa gave me a smile, which means I've been good, and took my hand. "Daddy doesn't want to see anyone at the moment. Maybe when Clara gets home from the Potts' house you two can go and see him. But he needs to get some sleep now."

But then I heard Daddy calling out from his room. A different calling, though. Not the hurting one he usually does on his bad days that makes Papa go running to him.

"Thor?"

It was my name. That didn't happen usually so it was weird. Papa told me that I was named after Daddy's big brother. I've never met him before, but Daddy tells me that he is wonderful and that's why I was named after him.

Papa looked a bit sad and then I felt sad.

"Honey?" Papa always called Daddy "honey", "baby" or "sweetheart" even though that isn't Daddy's real name. My Daddy's real name is Loki Stark and my Papa is Tony Stark. But I call them Daddy and Papa because they are my Daddy and Papa.

Daddy called out my name again. "Thor?"

Then Papa opened the door to the dark room and pushed me inside gently. I walked in and looked up to Daddy and Papa's bed, which I sleep in when I have a bad dream.

Daddy didn't look very happy. He was crying and wrapped up in his blankets. I could tell he was holding his short arm very tightly, though. He only does that when it starts getting very sore.

Papa lifted me up off the floor and put me on the bed. I crawled over to Daddy who lifted the blankets to let me wriggle inside. The blankets were warm and smelt like Daddy and it made me sleepy. I snuggled up to Daddy who cuddled me back. I felt his tears run into my hair, which didn't feel nice, but I didn't mind.

"Are you hurting again, Daddy?" I whispered. I don't know why I whispered but I felt like I needed to be quiet.

Daddy nodded. "Yes, baby."

"Do you want me to kiss it better?" Clara taught me that if someone had something hurting then you should kiss it better because kisses make everything better.

"No, baby," Daddy said. "It hurts too much for kisses. But thank you."

I felt JARVIS in my hands and turned around so I was facing Daddy.

"Here you go." I pushed JARVIS into his chest. "JARVIS makes the sad and hurt go away. I don't want you to hurt anymore, Daddy."

Daddy just pulled me closer to him and gave me a lovely kiss right in the middle of my forehead. I love it when he does that. It feels nice.

"You're a good boy, Thor," he whispered. "You're a very good boy and I'm proud of you." Daddy buried his face in my hair and sighed. "Sometimes…" he stopped. "Sometimes there are some hurts that just never go away and that isn't your fault. But it is very nice of you to try."

I tried to be a big boy and not get upset but I pouted anyway. "But I don't like you feeling hurt. It's not good. I feel sad when you're sad."

He hummed. "We can't have that can we," Daddy mumbled. He stroked my hair out of my face. He kissed me on the cheek and it made me squirm.

"Daddy," I giggled.

He laughed and dotted kisses all over my face and my head until I was squealing like a little girl. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and blew raspberries into my neck. It felt ticklish but I liked it.

All the tickling made me very sleepy and my eyes started drooping. Daddy was getting tired too, and moved around in the bed to get comfortable. I curled up into his stomach and fell asleep right next to my Daddy.

But I was only half asleep. I heard Papa get up from where he had sat down on the armchair and give Daddy a kiss on the lips. He put his hand on the side of the place between Daddy's leg and his ribs. His waist, I think.

"I've gotta pick up Clara-bear, now," Papa told Daddy. "I'll be back in about an hour. Are you okay alone for that long?"

Daddy nodded and held onto me tighter. "The painkillers are in the drawer. I'll just take some more a bit later. Thank you, darling." They kissed again, this time for longer and I smiled. It was nice to see them kiss because that meant they loved each other.

"See you soon." Papa closed the door behind him and then the room was very dark.

I got a bit scared because the dark is very scary and I let Daddy hug me more.

"Are you asleep yet?" I whispered to him.

"Nearly," Daddy said back to me.

"Does that mean you've stopped hurting a bit?"

Daddy nuzzled into my back. "A little bit. Now, let's try and take our afternoon nap then."

"Okay."

We were quiet for a bit but I just had to tell my Daddy something.

"Daddy?"

"Mmm?"

"I love you lots."

Daddy was quiet for a bit. "I love you lots too, sweetheart."

I smiled very, very widely and fell asleep in his arm.

Daddy's bad day wasn't bad any more after our nap together. It was a good day.

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**Phantom pains sometimes disappear a few months after the amputation, sometimes never. It depends on the nature of the amputation and whether or not the amputee felt extreme pain in the limb pre-operation (which is Loki's case).**

**Please leave a review! :)**


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